Lying to dying people

Some people tell lies to their relations when they are dying by pretending to them that they are going to get better. That is very wrong. Dying people have the right to know the truth so that they can get their affairs in order, say their goodbyes and, most importantly, prepare their souls and have the opportunity to repent of their sins before they die.

Right times to tell a lie

Sometimes, though not very often, it is right to tell a lie.  If a man came running up the road with a knife in his hand and asked you which way his next door neighbour had gone, you would of course tell him anything but the truth.  Sometimes we have to lie if we have been told something in confidence and someone else, who has no right to know and is just being nosey, asks us.  It is better then to say, “I don’t know”, rather than to break the confidence by telling the truth, for that would be worse.